RIDR Origins
by Truly Human
Summary: You know how all the teams have a theme they follow? So does RIDR. This is an AU story, mostly due to the face that RWBY hasn't gotten far enough to do a proper story yet. When this story is completed I will post a new RIDR story that follows the plot of the show.
1. Arriving at Beacon

_The world is a dark place. And no matter how much we try to fight that darkness, it always returns. But it is those flickering lights that make life worth living, no matter how fleetingly they remain with us. We live for them, and do our best to become a light for others. My world never had the light of others. My world has been shrouded in shadows since the day I was born. I was shaped in shadows and forged by darkness. I thrived in the deepest shadows, no longer concerned with gaining a light of my own. I was of the darkness and that suited me just fine. Until I met her. She became my light, my sun that drove away the shadows that had been my only companion for as long as I could remember. I have finally learned what I had been denied throughout my life, and I will not lose it. Any who threaten my light will learn fear of the dark. Who am I? I am Death._

The sky flew by as the large dust plane approached Beacon. On it were the new arrivals, the newest in a long line of Beacon hopefuls. Two figures stood side by side, watching the kingdom of Vale below them. One was large, a veritable giant compared to the other students. His was seven and a half feet tall, with wide, strong shoulders. He was dressed in blood red armor, heavy metal plates covering his muscular arms. His shirt was made of smaller scale shaped links, with red trim. Armor also covered his legs, armoring his thighs and shins, but leaving his feet unarmored, save for the steel toed boots he was wearing. A long sword was strapped to his back, a shining red crystal set in the base of the blade. Beside him stood a shorter, slimmer figure. This one stood at around six feet tall, still taller than most others on the plane, wearing a black shirt and gray cargo pants. He had green bandages wrapped around his arms, covering his sleeves and neck, draping down his back and torso. He also wore a pair of black gloves with armored fingertips and knuckles. Two small collapsible gun-scythes hung from his bone plated belt.

"It's been a while since we've see them. How much do you think has changed." Draeg asked, noticing how his friends eyes darted around the ship, never staying still for a moment.

"Nothing that matters." Rathan replied, not bothering to look at his taller companion. Rathan's fingers clicked as they tapped on the collapsed forms of his scythes, a nervous habit that Draeg noticed, not that he'd ever tell Rathan that.

"It's been a almost six months Rathan. Things are bound to have changed." Draeg said.

"It doesn't matter." Rathan said, shooting a glance at his friend, his orange eyes daring the giant to continue that line of conversation.

Draeg sighed but dropped the conversation. "So," he said, looking for a different line of conversation, "What do you think Beacon is going to be like?"

"A lot like Signal probably." Rathan replied, his eyes going back their scanning. "Fighting people and fighting monsters. Personally I don't really see much of a difference."

"You really aren't a happy person are you?" Draeg asked, even though he knew the answer. He and Rathan had had this conversation many times before. Rathan's rather morbid childhood had long since soured his view of the world.

"Maybe I'm not." Rathan agreed. "But the one thing I know is death. So learning how to kill is only natural."

Draeg let his blue eyes return to the ground below them, noticing how they seemed to be approaching Beacon. "You don't have to keep everything but death out of your life Rathan." Draeg said. "That's why its called life."

"And I'll protect the lives of innocents as best as I can. But my life has always been defined by death, Draeg. You know that. The first thing I did after my 'life' began was to kill." Rathan's eyes closed, pain flashing across his features.

"That was not your fault!" Draeg snapped fiercely.

"Maybe. Maybe not." Rathan said. "But the fact remains that my life centers around dealing death. I can't change that. I'm not even sure if I want to." He sided, running his hands through his spiky black hair. "Draeg, I've been dealing with this my whole life. I've never known any other way, and at this point I'm not sure I even want to. So I'm just going to do the best I can with what I have."

Draeg wanted so badly to argue. But a part of him knew that Rathan was right. Rathan didn't love like most people. That kind of automatic empathy that everyone had when they saw another person in pain wasn't there any more for Rathan. His primary emotion, as much as Draeg hated to admit it was hate. Rathan hated the world. He hated the world and save for a few exceptions, he hated everyone in it. Only one person had ever been able to make Rathan see life as worth living, and he hadn't seen her is six months.

The plane landed, sparing Draeg time alone with his thoughts, and he and Rathan shot off the plane, neither of them being terrible fans of the machines. It didn't take them long after that to find their way to the auditorium. The went over and stood by two teens who stood a little ways away from everyone else. One of them was dressed in white. A white hoodie, a chainmail shirt, white pants, etc. The other was the exact opposite. A black sleeveless trench coat, black shirt, black pants, all black. The thing that stood out most about him though were the scars that criss crossed his arms. Together they stood and waited for the welcoming speech to begin. It wasn't as crowded as it had been, from what their friend told them, but since the people here were early graduates, or others who'd been late being accepted for one reason or another, that was to be expected.

Draeg and Rathan had been put on the fast track at Signal by their favorite teachers, Professor Qrow and Professor Xiao Long. The fast track wasn't generally used due to its tendency to place students in situations they weren't ready for. But Qrow and Xiao Long had vouched for them and they had proved their mettle. Being accepted into Beacon was the next hurdle, but Ozpin had been delighted to have them, the pretty blonde woman with him a little less so. But they were here now so, that's what mattered. If anything, Draeg thought to himself, Rathan was probably a little ahead of the learning curve at the moment. The slight murmuring that had sprung up around the hall quieted as a silver haired man in a green suit walked onto the stage.

"I won't waste your time with motivational speeches." Professor Ozpin said. "Each of you is here because you have proven your skill and mettle. You have proven yourselves ready and willing to bear the workload and the responsibility that comes with the title of Huntsmen. But you will find, in your time here, that what you have proven means nothing. All that matters is what you continue to prove. Your journeys only grow more difficult from here. You must decide whether to take that first step." He strode of the stage, ignoring the uneasy whispers that had already started.

The pretty blonde, whose name Rathan didn't care to remember walked up next. "You'll gather in the ballroom tonight, and tomorrow your initiation begins." And she followed her boss off the stage.

"Come on." Rathan said, setting off for one of the corners, underneath a tall window. When they got there Rathan took of his pack and slung it down on the floor, effectively marking this as their spot. Then he sat down, pulling out his scythes and began running maintenance, checking every individual part and how they fit together, making sure the twin blades were in perfect condition.

"I'll go find us some lockers." Draeg offered when they'd gotten set up.

"Fine." Rathan said,folding up his weapons and handing them to Draeg. The next few hours were spent reading, running through strategies, and everything the two boys could think of that they would need the next day. When darkness finally fell Draeg reached into a back and pulled out two small blue pills and passed them to Rathan who looked at them distastefully his bloodshot orange eyes narrowing.

"Take them." Draeg ordered. "If the initiation is anything like we've heard, I'm going to need you at your best tomorrow, and that means you need to sleep." Rathan grumbled, but took the pills. It took half an hour, but the orange eyed reaper was soon asleep. Draeg shook his head as he looked at a stopwatch he'd started when Rathan downed the pills. Half an hour for a double dosage of pills that could ordinarily knock out a full grown man in just under five minutes. Rathan always had to push the limits. Rolling over Draeg decided it was about time for him to follow his own advice and get to sleep.

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><p><strong><em>Hello everyone. Here is the first taste of Team RIDR. Please review and tell me what you think.<em>**

(Credit to JWR Cromwell for the creation of Draeg)


	2. Initiation

Dawn had not yet broken when Rathan's orange eyes flew open, his hands clenching on their own. It took him a minute to get his bearings as his eyes flew all over the hall. He got up silently and made is way over to where he and Draeg had stored their gear. He opened the locker and pulled out his twin scythes, and hooked them onto his belt. He quickly and quietly slid on his bone-like armor and headed out the doors. Turning to the tower Rathan walked over to it and quickly began to climb. Rathan always found his way to the highest point he could get to whenever he found himself in a new place. He used it to memorize the layout and to take time to think and meditate. Due to his regular lack of sleep Rathan found that meditation allowed him to focus his mind so that he wasn't as affected by the sleep deprivation.

So that was where he stood as the sun peaked over the horizon. His eyes closed as he allowed the light to wash over him, clearing away the darkness. As the sun rose Rathan allowed his mind to go over everything current. Initiation was likely to be at least similar to what had been described to him, and unless he ran into a high class Grimm he wasn't really concerned about being able to kill it. The biggest problem would come if they assigned partners instead of allowing them to be randomly chosen. But if they followed the same pattern as before he and Draeg should be able to avoid making eye contact with anyone until they met up with each other. Rathan pounded a fist into his palm. He had finally arrived at where he wanted to be. He would not let it fall apart just because he looked someone in they eye. All he and Draeg had to do was look at the body but not the head. To be honest Rathan might be tempted to kill his partner if it was anyone other than Draeg. The sword wielding giant was the only person he really trusted to watch his back. Draeg had been a lifelong presence in Rathan's life. The two had grown up together, and Draeg was the only person who stuck by him when his life went to hell. He owed his friend more than he could repay, but he had a feeling Draeg knew how he felt.

Having meditated long enough Rathan leaned forward and flipped off the edge of the tower. The wind roared through his ears and Rathan allowed himself a smirk, pointing himself head first at the pavement as he fell. At the last moment he flipped forward, landing with a thud on the ground. "You ready for breakfast then?" Draeg asked with a raised eyebrow, from where he stood, not two feet in front of Rathan.

"Lets go." Rathan said with a nod, leading his heavily armored friend towards the cafeteria. The two ate quickly, not bothering with the sugary pancakes or waffles that ladened the tables, instead choosing to grab bagels and a few pieces of fruit. They ate in silence, carefully taking in the other candidates. "Those two are strong." Rathan said, his gaze landing on the two teens they had stood beside during Ozpin's speech.

Draeg nodded. "They're more experienced than the others that's for sure." he agreed. "Do you want to go introduce ourselves?" he asked.

"No." Rathan said, his eyes going back to his breakfast. "If they make it in the same amount of time we do then they'll be worth knowing. Until then I'm not going to waste my time." Draeg sighed but knew better than to push the issue, so he went back to his bagel.

In next to no time the newest Beacon hopefuls were assembled on the Emerald Cliffs, each one standing on a metal platform. "For years you have trained to become warriors." Ozpin said to the assembled teens. "Today we will see if you have what it takes to become Huntsmen." The headmaster of Beacon stood with his usual mug of coffee in his hand, with the blonde from the day before beside him with a scroll open in her arm.

"Now," she said. "I'm sure many of you have heard rumors about the assignment of teams. Well, allow me to put the rumors to bed. You will each be given your teammates…today."

"These teammates will be with you for the rest of your four years here at Beacon. So you should do your best to be paired with those you can work well." Ozpin said, picking up from his assistant. "That being said, the first person you make eye contact with will be your partner for the remainder of your time here at Beacon." Rathan and Draeg couldn't help but smirk at each other. "After you have found your partner, make your way to the northern end of the forest. You will encounter opposition along the way. Do not hesitate to destroy everything in your path, or you will die. You will be monitored and graded on your performance during your initiation, but the instructors will not interfere." Ozpin said calmly. "At the end of the path you will find an abandoned temple containing several relics. Each pair must choose a relic then make there way back to the cliffs. You will guard that item, and your standing and be graded appropriately. Are there any questions?" A few noncommittal grunts and a shake of the head from Draeg were the only response. "Good. Now take your positions." the headmaster instructed. One by one the platforms flicked forward, sending the person standing on them rocketing through the air. Rathan took out Dark Reaver, it's twin blades gleaming in the sunlight. Draeg offered him a grin, Blind Justice already in his hand, before the taller teen was launched. Idly Rathan noticed that the metal backpack that the guy in white was wearing, that he hadn't had the day before, had extended metal wings and was acting like some kind of glider, keeping him in the air as long as he wanted.

Bringing his focus back to his own fall Rathan flipped forward, flicking Dark Reaver out, and allowing the green edges of the twin blades to bite into the wood of an exposed tree branch. He swung in a circle once, then launched himself at the forest floor. Landing with a thud the young reaper looked up just enough to make sure there was nothing around him, then closed his eyes and listened. A few moments later heard the sound he'd been listening for. The screaming hum of Draeg's weapon. Making sure to keep his eyes on the forest floor Rathan sprinted in the direction he's heard it come from. If he'd heard it then chances were someone else had as well, and Rathan would rather be partnered with Draeg before anyone else got there.

When Rathan finally got to the clearing where Draeg was it was littered with the broken corpses of Ursa and Beowolves. The other thing he noticed was that the clearing wasn't there when they'd landed.

"When he said 'destroy everything in your path' I don't think he meant the forest." Rathan said, beheading a Beowolf that tried to sneak up behind him.

"He said everything." Draeg shrugged, shouldering his massive sword, the red dust crystal set in the hilt still glowing slightly.

"True. Let's get moving." Rathan said, no longer worrying about keeping his eyes down. Together the two Signal graduates made it to the temple in record time. "Chess pieces. He really isn't changing anything is he?" Rathan said picking up a black knight.

"Maybe not. But that just makes our jobs easier." Draeg said with a shrug. Rathan had to repress a snort. When it came down to it Draeg was just like any other teen when it came to taking exams, and now was apparently no different.

"See! I told you we wouldn't be the first ones here! We should have taken that short cut I saw before coming down!" a voice whined.

"You mean that one that was swarming with Grimm? I don't like the idea of taking several dozen at once." a dryer voice said. It was the two teens they'd seen before. The white clothed teen was complaining while the black clad one was looking at him with a raise eyebrow.

"We could have taken them." the white one pouted.

"I'm sure." the Rathan said, tossing them the other black knight. "But for now let's worry about getting back to the cliffs in one piece." he said.

"Um, okay." the one in white said, pocketing the chess piece. "I'm Rafus by the way. And this is my partner Itam."

"I'm Draeg and this is Rathan." the swordsman said, following his partner.

"Nice to meet you." Itam said with a nod.

Rafus froze. His black eyes tracking a spot in the gray cloudy sky drawing steadily closer. "Find cover!" he shouted, sprinting at to the treeline. The others didn't hesitate, they bolted for the trees. And not a second too soon, because as soon as they started moving, a hail of gigantic black feathers covered the clearing.

"What the hell is a Nevermore doing here!" Draeg asked as a feather came close to spearing through the trunk of the tree he was hiding behind.

"It might have been alerted to our presence by our combat getting here." Itam suggested.

"Shit." Rathan swore. "Draeg?" he asked, looking at his partner.

"No. Not from this range. Trying it would drain me dry and there's no guarantee that I'll hit it."

"I can hit it." Rafus said, pulling out his weapons, which happened to be two massive pistols, which he changed into a sniper rifle. "But I'd need to be out of cover to get a clean shot. I'd be totally exposed."

"What about you?" Rathan asked Itam.

"I can't fight at long range." Itam said.

"What about close range?" Rathan asked.

"I'm good at close." Itam replied.

"Good enough to keep those feathers off of him?" the reaper asked, jerking his head at Rafus. Itam nodded. "Good." Rathan said. "Draeg, you and I are going to get to the other side, when I give the word you launch me."

"Launch you?" Rafus asked, but Rathan continued as if he hadn't heard him.

"While we're doing this, Rafus you need to shoot at this thing as much as you can, keep it's attention off us. Itam, you'll need to defend him while he's shooting." the reaper ordered. Rafus and Itam looked unsure, but nodded none the less. "Go!" Rathan shouted, as he and Draeg sprinted across the field.

"You crazy son of a-" Rafus shouted, squeezing off shots from his sniper rifle. THe gunslinger hadn't managed to fire three shots before a hail of feathers shot towards him. But it was knocked out of the air by a long chain, with a spear blade on the end. Itam was standing a little off to the side, whirling two lengths of chain, each one tipped with a spear blade, knocking all the feathers out of the sky as soon as they came close to his partner. "Any time now!" Rafus shouted at Rathan and Draeg as he pulled the trigger again and again in rapid succession.

The other two had finally reached the point they'd needed. Just inside the Nevermore's range, but angles so that it couldn't fire at them. Grabbing one of the feathers that had been a part of the giant Grimm's first volley Rathan ran over to Draeg and leapt onto the flat of his partners giant sword. Grunting Draeg swung his sword, launching Rathan into the air, straight at the Nevermore.

"He's not going to make it!" Rafus realized as Rathan began to slow. But Rathan and Draeg disagreed. Rathan threw a something small into the air and Draeg acted. Channeling his aura into the red crystal set in his sword he swung again, only this time an arc of blood red light leapt from the tip of his sword.

"Is he crazy!" Itam asked, noticing the arc of energy.

"You have to ask?" Rafus shot back, making Itam incline his head. But the light didn't harm Rathan. The young reaper had laid the Nevermore feather against his back, so when the light hit him, all it did was push his even further.

Twisting his two scythes together Rathan was suddenly holding a single, full sized scythe. And he rammed the blade home, right into the Nevermore's left eye causing it to shriek in agony. But the force of the energy wave had been just a little too great, and Rathan was jerked from his scythe, his hands losing their grip on the shaft. Never one to give up Rathan dug his fingers into the Nevermore's back with a metallic screech. Then he sprinted back up the giant beast back, leaping into the air as he approached it's head. Flying past his scythe, Rathan grabbed hold of it and levered it out of the beast's eye in a gout of blood. Spinning the scythe expertly in his hands he made one of the blades straighten out and he stabbed the beast right in it's remaining eye. Channeling his aura into his hand, making it appear as if wisps of green smoke were coming off it, Rathan slammed his palm into the still folded blade of his scythe, pushing it the rest of the way in. The Grimm's screeches of pain fell silent, and the demon bird plummeted from the air. Pulling the full sized form of Dark Reaver free from the corpse Rathan leapt into the air, flipped once and landed on one knee, with the scythe held behind him and one arm outstretched. An instant later the black knight piece fell neatly into his waiting hand.

"Now let's get going." Rathan said, walking over and picking up the scarred feather that he's used to reach the bird.

Teams RWBY and JNPR stood together as they watched the rest of the teams be formed. "This is so boring!" Yang said. "Why are they even making up come to this on a Saturday?"

"Show some respect!" Weiss snapped. "This is the beginning for them. The start of their journeys to become Huntsmen and Huntresses." Yang gave her a look that clearly said 'And?'

"Weiss is right." Ruby said. "Six months ago that was us standing up there. Besides, whoever is coming in now is going to be our classmates. We might as well get to know them." Yang sighed, but didn't protest any further.

"Um, I think they're announcing the last team now." Jaune said from his place next to Pyrrha. It was true. There were only four more people. They stood side by side at the edge of the stage, waiting for their names to be called.

"Rafus Rixam." Ozpin said, making Pyrrha's eyes widen as a boy dressed all in white stepped up onto the stage. "Itam Kelleram. Draeg Miles." Ruby and Yang shot to their feet as the third member of the team stepped up onto the stage as his name was called.

"No way!" Yang said. "It can't be Draeg. He's huge!"

Ruby didn't look any less surprised but just said, "A lot can change in a year."

"You know him?" Weiss asked, eyeing the hulking teen.

"Yeah." Ruby said. "He went to Signal with Yang and me. He was a year ahead of me. It's kind of strange to think he's now going to be in the class below me." she finished looking uncomfortable.

"Wait a second." Yang said slowly. "If Draeg's here that can only mean…" she trailed off as a look of dawning comprehension appeared on both her and Ruby's faces.

"Rathan Messor." Ozpin announced as the fourth member of the new team stepped up. Weiss was shocked that Ruby and Yang, some of the brightest people she knew were acquainted with someone like that. The black hair and clothes were bad enough, but the bone armor was what sent chills down her spine. You couldn't just go into a store and get armor like that off the shelves. That had to be custom made, and whoever would want armor like that had some serious issues. Ozpin's voice cut off any more of her thoughts. "You four retrieved the black knight pieces. From this day forth you shall be Team RIDR. Lead by…Rathan Messor."

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><p><em><strong>Alright, here is the second installment and the actual formation of Team RIDR. We got to see a little action is this chapter and I did my best to make it up to par with what we saw Teams RWBY and JNPR do during their initiation. Please send reviews, they help make an author feel like he's doing a good enough job to keep writing. <strong>_

(Credit to Matthias the Wanderer for the creation of Itam and to Noah Odinson for the creation of Rafus)


	3. Confrontation

Team RIDR had barely managed to step off the stage when they were ambushed by Teams RWBY and JNPR. "Oof." Rathan grunted as he was nailed by a full force tackle-hug. Reaching a hand up he placed it softly on the hair of the person hugging him, a slight smile on his lips that was gone before anyone had seen it. "Hey Yang." The young reapers eyes narrowed however when he realized that he was surrounded by people he didn't know.

There was a loud 'Oof' that caught his attention. Looking over Rathan saw Ruby on her butt looking up at Draeg. Apparently she had tried to tackle-hug Draeg the same way Yang had to Rathan but with considerably less success. "When did you get so big?" a familiar voice asked, easing the tension from his body.

"A lot can change in six months Ruby." Draeg laughed, helping the girl to her feet. Grinning the red clad warrior took the large sword off his back and expanded it to it's full length. "And swinging this thing around every day tends to do that to you." Ruby instantly had stars in her eyes as she flitted around the massive blade.

"Ooh! Is that what you've been working on? What does it do? Does it have any different forms?" the weapon fanatic rapid fired her questions.

"Is she always like this?" a deeper voice asked.

"Not always Itam." Draeg laughed again. "Only when she's around new weapons. She's a bit of a dork when it comes to weapons."

"I couldn't tell." Itam replied with a slight hint of sarcasm.

"You people are slightly crazy aren't you?" the last member of Team RIDR said with a raise eyebrow and a grin.

"You really don't have any room to talk Rafus." Itam said dryly.

"Eh. Never said I did." the gunslinger shrugged. "It's good to see you again Pyrrha." he said holding out a hand to the red haired girl.

The spartan looked at the hand for a minute then wrapped the white clad teen in a crushing hug. "Rafus it's so great to see you again!" she said excitedly.

"Um, Pyrrha. Not so tight." Rafus groaned.

"Oh! Right, sorry." Pyrrha apologized, setting him back down.

"Ahem." a girl said, snapping everyone out of their reunions. The girl was dressed mostly in white, and had a rapier hanging at her hip. She also had snow white hair that was pulled into an off center ponytail. "Would you care to introduce yourselves to the rest of us?" she asked, giving off the snotty, superior air that Draeg knew was going to cause problems.

"No." Rathan said simply, glaring at her.

"Rathan, don't be rude." Draeg chastised. Rathan just shrugged.

"Come on, please?" Ruby pleaded, hitting the other reaper full force with her puppy dog eyes.

"You know that doesn't work on me." the orange eyed teen deadpanned.

"Oh, come on! What's the harm in making a few new friends?" Yang asked, trying to drape an arm around Rathan's shoulders only to realize that he was taller than her now."

"Well I'm interested in getting to know all these beautiful ladies." Rafus said, reaching out and kissing Weiss's hand.

"Down boy." Itam told him.

"Fine." Rathan growled. "I'm Rathan. This is my partner Draeg and the rest of my team, Rafus and Itam. Happy now?" he said glaring.

"Is he always like this?" Jaune asked Ruby nervously.

"He's not that bad once you get to know him." Ruby told him cheerfully.

"Right." Jaune said, not terribly reassured. He wasn't sure if he wanted to get to know this guy to be honest.

"I'm Rafus." the gunslinger said, twirling a pistol around his finger, making Yang stop Ruby from going starry-eyed. "I came here from Sanctum, and this is my partner Itam." As he spoke, he holstered his gun and laid an arm around the black clad teen's shoulders.

"A pleasure." the chain user nodded, but didn't say anything else.

"Hi. I'm Ruby." the hood wearing girl waved. "The fearless leader of Team RWBY. And this is Weiss, she's my partner."

"Weiss Schnee. Heiress of the Schnee Dust company." Draeg said walking forward, holding out a hand. "Your company is the one that helped me get my Primary Dust Synthesis degree."

"You have a dust synthesis degree." Weiss said, looking sceptical.

"Yep." Draeg said with a laugh. "I know, I don't look the part of a scientist, do I. But I had to get special permission to have so much concentrated dust in Blind Justice. And while I was studying for that I figured out that I had a knack for dust synthesis."

"I see." Weiss nodded, looking at the giant with newfound respect.

"And I'm Yang." the blonde brawler said waving at the unfamiliar members of Team RIDR. "And this is Blake." she said, pulling the bow wearing girl up beside her.

"Hi." the secret cat faunus said, nodding at them once.

"So who's on your team Pyrrha?" Rafus asked, punching the spartan lightly on the shoulder.

"This is Jaune." Pyrrha said, pulling the blonde boy up next to her. "He's my partner and the leader of Team JNPR."

"You're the leader?" Rafus asked turning to Jaune, looking surprised.

"Um, yeah. It surprised me too." the knight said, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Eh, I'm sure you'll do fine." Rafus said easily, surprising Jaune.

"Y-you aren't mad?" he asked.

"Mad? About what?" Rafus asked confused.

"Uh, that Pyrrha isn't the leader?"

"Does she look mad to you?" Rafus asked.

"No." Jaune replied, not seeing where this was going.

"If she's not mad, why would I be?" Rafus said, looking at Jaune like he was stupid.

Before anyone else could say anything, a certain orange haired girl couldn't contain herself anymore. "Hello!" she sang, popping out of nowhere behind Itam. "I'm Nora, and this is Ren. Do you like pancakes, can you fly, have you ever ridden an Ursa before?" she asked in rapid succession.

"Nora." A calm voice said, cutting off the exuberant girl.

"Yes Ren?" Nora said, freezing in place and looking at the long haired, violet eyed boy.

"Calm down." Ren told her.

"Okay!" Nora chirped, skipping over to stand next to her partner.

"I'm Li Ren and this is Nora Valkyrie, we're the last two members of Team JNPR." Itam and Rathan nodded, almost in sync at the green clad teen.

"Nice to meet you." Draeg nodded, at the same time Rafus said, "Hey."

"So what now?" Blake asked, noticing that they were all just standing around the bottom of the stage, in a now empty auditorium.

"Party in our room!" Yang suggested, making Ruby cheer.

"Sorry." Rathan said shaking his head. "But we need to go unpack."

"And get to know our teammates." Draeg said looking thoughtful.

"Aw." Ruby pouted.

"Can't you do that later?" Yang asked.

Rathan placed a hand on top of Yang's head, making everyone take a quick breath, they knew how protective Yang was of her hair. "We'll be seeing plenty of eachother. But for now we have to go." he said surprisingly softly. Taking his hand off her head, Rathan walked over to where he'd dropped his bag and slung it over his shoulder. "We'll see you guys tomorrow." he called over his shoulder, walking in the direction of the dorms.

Rafus, Itam and Draeg looked at each other. "You heard the man." Draeg shrugged. "Let's go unpack." The black and white partners nodded and followed their heavily armored teammate after their leader.

"That was…different." Pyrrha said eventually, trying to be diplomatic.

"I think they're nice!" Ruby said with a smile.

"Of course you do you dolt." Weiss snapped. "You get along with the who looks like a mummy!"

"Hey!" Yang said, jumping to both her sisters and her friends defence. "Rathan isn't a bad guy. He just doesn't like people that much."

"Well then he shouldn't have any room to complain when people don't like him." Weiss sniffed.

"They definitely aren't like anyone else we've met." Blake said, hoping to defuse the situation before Yang blew up, literally.

"That is true." Ren nodded, looking after the new team thoughtfully.

"They just need more pancakes!" Nora said, to Jaune. That was it. The tense mood broke as even Weiss smiled at the randomness of the orange haired girl.


	4. New Beginnings

Rathan sighed, cracking his neck as he sat down. There had been and unexpected teachers conference, or something similar, so the students at Beacon had gotten a one week vacation from classes, or rather a one week addition to their summer break. Most of the students were enjoying the unanticipated addition to their break, but Rathan was going stir crazy. So there he sat on the last day of their break, tapping his fingers on the table as he scanned the room. Team JNPR were all sitting side by side. Nora was flicking her food at Yang who was catching it in her mouth. Meanwhile Team RWBY was being given an overly dramatic speech by Ruby, about how the last day of their break should be the best day ever. He had to chuckle a bit at hearing "Friends! Sisters! Weiss."

"You're in a surprisingly good mood." Itam noted as he flipped a page in his book.

"No." Rathan said truthfully. "But that was funny." Itam shrugged, but didn't argue.

"Dude, you're probably the only one here who likes going to class." Rafus grumbled.

"What else are we here for?" Rathan asked, growling slightly.

"Does it matter?" Rafus asked. "Who have you ever heard of complaining that they don't have to go to class?"

"He does kind of have a point Rathan." Draeg said just before he stuck a whole waffle in his mouth. Itam held a napkin out to his massive teammate, not taking his eyes off his book before tilting his head to the left, avoiding a tomato that Nora had flicked into Yang's face and that the blonde hand thrown back. A moment later their attention was drawn back to the RWBY table where Weiss had just stood up, only to receive a pie to the face.

Everyone looked at the JNPR table where Nora was still half standing. The energetic girl sat down quickly and pointed at Ren, who was hiding his face in his hands. Pyrrha had a hand in front of her mouth and Jaune looked shocked, as his cheek rested in his palm.

Outside the cafeteria two students were walking along. One was blond, and wore an open button up shirt, shorts and sneakers. He also wore a gold necklace and red arm guards. The other had blue hair, and wore a red jacket, jeans and boots. He also wore dark colored armor on his arms and legs and had a pair of yellow lensed goggles on his head. "Man that's harsh." The one with blue hair said.

"And then we were fighting side by side, and she was super fast!" The blonde one was telling him. "And I threw a banana at a guy which sounds gross but it was awesome!"

"Nice!" The one with blue hair grinned.

"Right! And the best part is, she's a faunus." as he said it the blonde seemed to realize that he'd said something he wasn't supposed to and quickly added, "But that's a secret! Okay?"

"Got it." The one with blue hair sighed.

"And not a 'I'm gonna tell Scarlet as soon as Sun turns his back' secret. I'm talking secret secret."

"Woah, chill out man okay? I got it. I got it."

"You better." Sun said. "I just don't wanna screw this up you know." he said as they walked along, oblivious to the colored splashed appearing on the windows beside them. "No offence to you guys." Sun said, the pair even failing to notice as Jaune was thrown into the window right beside them. "Okay, they're just in here." Sun said as they stopped at the door to the cafeteria. "I'm really excited for you to meet them, so be cool. You're gonna be cool right?"

"Dude." the blue haired one said crossing his arms over his chest and striking a 'cool guy' pose, complete with grin and teeth glare.

"Good point." Sun conceded with a nod. The two slid through the doors, a large smile on Sun's face, a look of horror on his friends. As they entered, a stampede of students fled past them screaming, "Food Fight!"

Nora stood on top of a large number of tables that had been piled up on top of each other on one end of the hall, with the other members of Team JNPR standing on different lower tables. Halfway down the hall the members of Team RIDR were hanging from the windows and arches at the roof of the hall, looking down.

"Hahahaha!" Nora cackled. "I'm queen of the castle! I'm queen of the castle!"

Ruby's foot came down on one of the leftover tables so hard she sent all the remaining food on it into the air. "Justice will be swift! Justice will be painful!" She shouted squeezing her carton of milk so hard it burst, squirting milk everywhere. "It will be DELICIOUS!" she shouted, pumping her fist, still clenching the broken remains of her milk carton into the air, Team RWBY following suit behind her.

Flipping off their perches Team RIDR landed in front of the windows, the light coming in casting a dramatic backlight. Rafus shook his head sadly. "How many peaceful meals must be destroyed before you are satisfied!" He cried out, shouting at the ceiling. "No more! This senseless war ends now!" the white clad teen declared, charging forward. Rolling their eyes at their teammate's antics the remainder of Team RIDR followed him into the fray.

"Off with their heads!" Nora ordered, hopping off her perch and in front of a table laden with watermelons. Ren flipped to one side, stepping on the edge of a tray covered with three watermelons as he came down and kicked them all at Team RWBY. Jaune managed to flip forward, grab a watermelon while he was upside down and fling it forward as soon as his feet hit the ground. Pyrrha launched her own watermelons across the hall, and Nora flipped the entire table of watermelons, sending a barrage of green fruit at the four girls.

"Yang, turkeys!" Ruby ordered, pointing out the two whole turkeys lying on the floor. Yang flipped forward and slid her hands into the turkeys. She punched her hands together, like she would if she were using Ember Celica, and still managed to create a shockwave. Then shooting forward she began punching the incoming watermelons out of the air. She got a few but had to leap back temporarily. The she surged forward, punching watermelons like crazy. A moment later Blake leapt over her head and grabbed two pieces of bread that were at Yang's feet. The two worked in unison to destroy the last of the enemy projectiles.

Before they could react, Draeg had leapt forward, and slammed his foot on one end of a massive shishkebab, sending it flipping end over end into his hand. Swinging it in a wide arc he smacked both Blake and Yang before turning to block a strike from Pyrrha who was wielding a piece of french bread. as they pushed against each other two turkeys flew past them hitting Jaune in the face and chest. Breaking apart the two sword users clashed again and again, Pyrrha's superior speed allowing her to land a blow on Draeg's face strong enough to spin him ninety degrees, just enough to make him unable to react to Nora's blow with a makeshift hammer made from a long metal pole with another watermelon stuck on the end, sending him skidding back. She was knocked back again however when Itam appeared above them, wielding two lines of sausages. Itam rolled forward after lashing out at the two JNPR members, only just avoiding a flurry of blows from Yang, forcing him to give her his attention. Along the tables next to them came Ruby, surfing on a tray that she also used to block more bread they Pyrrha threw like javelins. She would have slammed the tray into Pyrrha, but Rathan came in between them, his arms crossed to block Ruby and his right foot landed on Pyrrha's shoulder. He conducted the force of the blow onto both of them, adding his own for good measure. He grabbed the tray from Ruby as she sailed away from him and flicked it at the ground while he twisted in midair, hitting the end of a long tube that flipped into his hands. He landed on the balls of his feet and spun, finding himself face to face with Jaune.

"Um. Is that a bratwurst?" the blond knight asked, fearing the answer. Rathan grinned evilly and smacked the other boy into a wall, before twirling his substitute weapon and locking into a threeway struggle with Ren and Yang. Glancing over his shoulder he saw Itam leap out of the way of a cloud of ketchup sent his way by Weiss. The white haired girl was then forced back by a sudden barrage of sodas, courtesy of Rafus who was crouching on a ledge near the ceiling, carefully disrupting the entire battle. Ruby tried to run up the wall to get to the gunman, but was grabbed by the ankle by a line of sausage links and thrown into Ren. Sensing immediate danger Rathan broke off his sparring match with Yang in time to avoid a blow by melon-hammer. A second later Yang was sent flying through the roof, knocking Rafus off his perch, by Nora, who was in turn knocked through a wall by Draeg. A moment later though, he too was forced to move in order to avoid Pyrrha's attack. The red haired girl had used her semblance, which the members of Team RIDR knew was polarity thanks to Rafus had taken control of all the soda cans and was hurling them en mass at the other two teams. Blake had already been knocked into Weiss and the two of them together thrown into a wall. Ruby narrowed her eyes. Rathan knew that look. "Draeg, wall!" he ordered, and the massive teen nodded, standing behind his teammates, crouching slightly, with his arms outstretched. Before Rafus or Itam could ask what was going on Ruby had already passed them, creating enough force to send the soda cans, and all other food following her in a massive vortex. "Hold your positions!" Rathan ordered the other members of his team. "And block what you can!" With that he and Itam stood fast, striking down whatever they could, even managing to hold off being blown back into Draeg until the worst of the food storm had passed. Team JNPR had not been so lucky. They had been plastered to a wall, that looked like an impressionist painting with four silhouettes cut out of it. Ruby was smiling, celebrating her victory until a cookie hit her in the forehead, followed swiftly by a watermelon. Draeg and Rafus highfived.

"I love these guys." Sun said grinning. His friend just glared, covered in purple juice. Then the door behind them burst open and Professor Goodwitch barged in, growling and holding her riding crop. With a thrust of her hand and a wave of her crop, the food and broken furniture that littered the hall cleaned itself, leaving no trace of a battle, save for what was on the combatants. "Children please," she said after the last table had been put in it's place. "Do not play with your food." The three teams stood around some of the tables, Nora dizzily making her way back through the door to stand by her team and Yang falling right into Rathan's outstretched arms before he set her down next to her team.

Glynda growled again as she watched the students laugh and flick food stuffs at each other. "Let it go." Ozpin told her, laying a calming hand on her shoulder.

"They're supposed to be the defenders of the world." she said exasperatedly.

"And they will be. But for right now they're still enjoying their childhood. So why not let them. After all, it isn't something they'll get to enjoy forever." he said gazing at the teams as he walked away. Glynda didn't miss how his eyes lingered on the newest team of the bunch and something told her that they didn't even really get to enjoy it now.


	5. Never Simple

"Do we really have to be here?" Rafus groaned as Itam pushed another book at him. "I mean it's not our fault the teachers got called away for a week, but they expect us to catch up now that their back."

"I don't particularly like it either, but it's what we have to do." Draeg said, looking somewhat ridiculous hunched over the small library tables.

"Even when there's a small fleet outside?" Rafus groused. "And if we have to do this then where's our fearless leader?"

"You just answered your own question." Draeg said turning a page in his book. "There's a fleet outside. He's not going to ignore that."

"But doesn't he still need to study?" Rafus asked.

"Rathan doesn't sleep much." Draeg said. "So he's already ahead of most of us when it comes to school work."

"That doesn't seem healthy." Itam commented.

"Maybe not." Draeg shrugged, rolling his shoulders and closing his book. "But it's how he's been since the we were young, so I'm not too worried. Now why don't we take a break and see what all the commotion about." the red giant said jabbing a thumb over his shoulder at where Teams RWBY and JNPR were sitting at two close together tables.

"Well Weiss, it's your turn." Yang said as Ruby slumped over in defeat.

"I have... absolutely no idea what's going on." Weiss admitted looking at her cards.

"Which kingdom are you playing as?" Draeg asked walking up.

"Is that really important?" Weiss asked, obviously not familiar with how the game was played.

"It is." Draeg said pulling up a chair and sitting down. "This is essentially a game of world domination, where you as the player is commanding your own forces. You need to know which bonuses and penalties come with the kingdom you're commanding." the brown haired teen looked at the board intently. "She's Vacuo right?" he asked, to which Blake nodded. "That means that all cards you get for Vacuo come with a of it like a home field advantage."

"Okay…" Weiss said, clearly uncomfortable being this close to one of the people she more or less considered an enemy.

"You have...Sandstorm, Desert Scavenge and Resourceful Raider. That means that you could A-steal Ruby's Air Fleet, and play Sandstorm to hamper Yang's ground forces, taking control of both air and land."

"Then I-" Weiss started but Draeg cut her off.

"Hold on. The absolute first thing you want to do is play Desert Scavenge to pick up any trap cards on the board." He then picked up several cards, mostly on Yang's side and added them to Weiss's hand. "Now you can't play those until your next turn but you also don't run the risk of activating a trap and losing your armies." Draeg lectured. Looking up he noticed that Weiss, Blake, Rafus, Itam and all of Team JNPR were staring at him in shock. "What?" he asked.

"How did you know to do all that?" Jaune asked.

Draeg shrugged. "I like military strategy. So games like this are good practice."

A dramatized sob drew their attention away from the armored teen and to a desolate looking Yang. "I knew we shouldn't have let him help her." she cried out, hugging an equally sobbing Ruby.

"What's up with them?" Rafus asked, not sure what to make of the strange scene before him.

"They don't like playing this with me anymore." Draeg chuckled, looking a bit sheepish.

Itam leaned over Blakes shoulder, and then tapped several cards in succession. When Weiss gave him a look, he shrugged. "Strategy's not my forte, but I've always liked games." The white haired heiress still glared at him, but luckily for her it wasn't necessary. The cards that Itam had suggested to Blake weren't able to turn around the sudden onslaught from Weiss and Draeg.

"That was not a fair game!" Yang said as soon as Weiss wiped out the last of their resistance and started cackling madly. "He helped you!" She said pointing an accusing finger at Draeg.

"And what is that supposed to mean? Blake was helped too I would like to point out." Weiss snapped back haughtily.

"But Draeg is like an ultimate win cheat code!" Ruby said emphatically. "You can't lose with him on your side." Pausing as if a thought had just struck her she turned to Draeg slowly. "Why didn't you help me" she cried out as she grabbed the front of his shirt, reduced to tears again.

"Because you've played this before." the giant said prying the hood wearing teen off of him. With the last of her strength Ruby went back to her seat and pulled out a paper bag. Reaching into it she pulled out a cookie and munched on it like it was a security blanket.

"H-hey, can I play?" Jaune asked, walking up behind Weiss.

"Sorry Jaune, but we've already got four players." Ruby apologized.

"Besides, this game requires a level of tactical cunning that I seriously doubt you possess." Weiss said derisively.

"You do realize that you attacked your own naval fleet two turns ago?" Draeg said with a teasing grin.

"S-shut up!" Weiss spluttered, blushing.

"Besides, I'll have you know that I've been told I'm a natural born leader." Jaune said proudly.

"By who? You're mother?" Rafus asked snarkily.

"A-and Pyrrha!" Jaune said, trying to defend himself. "Come on," he pleaded with Weiss, "Let me play your hand for a turn."

"I'm not trusting you with the good citizens of Vacuo." Weiss said, moving her hand further away from him, as if he might contaminate them.

"Why not?" Jaune asked. "You've trusted me with way more important things before. I mean you told us all that Blake is secretly a-"

He was cut off by Draeg's hand covering his mouth. "Choose your next few words carefully." The swordsman warned. His eyes shifted to Blake who was glaring at Jaune.

"Right. Thanks." Jaune said rubbing the back of his head nervously as Draeg removed his hand. "Ladies, enjoy your battle." he said bowing and was about to walk away when they heard.

"Sup losers." Sun was standing over Blake's shoulder grinning at them all.

"Hey Sun." Ruby greeted the blond monkey faunus.

"Ruby, Yang, Blake, Ice Queen. Wait, Rafus?" he said in shock, looking over at the white clad gunslinger.

"Hey Sun!" Rafus said, walking over and fistbumping Sun.

"Man! I didn't realize that was you earlier!" Sun said, obviously talking about the food fight.

"It was kinda chaotic." Rafus said.

"No kidding." Itam said, flipping another page in a book he's started reading after giving Blake his suggestion while everyone else was talking.

"You two know each other?" Blake said looking from one to the other."

"Sun and I grew up together in Vacuo until we lost track of each other. I haven't seen him since I was a kid." Rafus shrugged.

"Anyway." Sun said gesturing to the blue haired teen beside him. "I never go to formally introduce you guys to my other friend here."

"Um, aren't libraries for reading?" the blue haired one asked. "Thank you!" Ren said loudly enough to wake up Nora, from his place at the Team JNPR table.

"Pancakes!" the orange haired girl said as she was startled out of her nap.

"Shut up. Don't be a nerd." Sun said to his friend.

"Ge ge ge ge. Intellectual. Okay. Thank you." the other teen said. "I'm Neptune." he said raising a hand in greeting.

"So where are you from?" Draeg asked as he looked over Weiss's hand again, tapping a few cards.

"Haven." Neptune said looking over at where Draeg and Weiss were sitting. "And I don't believe I caught your name, Snow Angel." he said sidling up to the Schnee heiress.

"It's Weiss. And don't call me that." the white haired girl snapped back.

"Ha!" Jaune laughed at seeing someone other than him get shot down when trying to flirt with the beautiful girl.

"Sheesh. Okay Ice Queen." Neptune said, slightly miffed.

"I never took you for the board-game playing type." Sun said to Blake.

"Right. Well, I think I'm done playing actually. I'll see you guys later." the black haired girl said getting up and walking away.

Sun looked at the others as she left, wondering what he did wrong. He got some sympathetic looks, Draeg and Rafus looked slightly amused, and Itam hadn't looked up from his book except when Blake got up to leave. "Women." Nora said shrugging.

Back in Team RWBY's dorm room Blake was sitting with her knees tucked up to her chest, her arms wrapped around her knees, replaying a night earlier that year when she and Sun had worked together to stop Roman Torchwick and the White Fang from stealing a large shipment of dust from the Schnee Dust Company.

"Brothers of the White Fang, Why are you aiding this scum!"

"The White Fang and I are going in on a little business venture together."

She replayed those lines in her head, as the memories of the fight that came soon after engulfed her. Then her thoughts drifted to the conversation that had come after.

"Well, this has certainly been an eventful evening." Professor Ozpin said as he walked into the interrogation room, his customary mug of coffee in his hand. "I'm sure that after a night of thwarting attempted robbery you just want to go home and take a nap, but" he said sitting down, leaning his cane up against the table and setting his mug down. "I was hoping that maybe we could have a chance to talk."

"Of course." Blake nodded, trying to sound cheerful and polite.

"Wonderful!" Ozpin said. "As you know, to enroll in my Academy students must first pass a rigorous entrance exam. Most applicants spend years of preparation, training at one of the many combat schools around the world. You are one of the few who did not." Ozpin said raising his mug to his lips. "And you passed the exam with flying colors."

"I was raised outside the kingdoms." Blake explained. "If you can' fight, you can't survive."

"Well you have most certainly survived Blake." Ozpin said. "I admire your drive and I am proud to run a school that accepts individuals from all walks of life. Rich, poor, human," here he paused and took a sip of his beverage before lowering it and looking directly at her. "Faunus." Blake's eyes narrowed. "Why do you wear that bow, Blake? Why hide who you are?"

"You may be willing to accept the faunus, Professor Ozpin, But your species is not." the cat faunus said bitterly.

"True." Ozpin acknowledged. "But we are taking steps to lessen the divide."

"With all due respect," Blake said harshly "You need to start making some longer strides. Until then I'd rather avoid any unnecessary attention. I want people to see me for who I am, not what I am." she told him more softly.

"And what are you?" Ozpin asked.

"I-I don't understand what you're asking." Blake told him looking away nervously.

"How did you know the White Fang would be at the shipyard tonight?" he asked.

"I didn't." Blake said. "I just happened to be in the right place at the right time."

"You wouldn't have been the first." Ozpin said with a sly smile. "But what happened tonight was not an isolated incident. I may be your Headmaster, but I am also a Huntsman, and it is my sworn duty to protect this world from the forces that conspire against it. Blake," he said, looking at her intently, "Are you sure there is nothing else you would like to tell me?"

"I'm sure." Blake said.

"Very well." Ozpin said standing up. "Thank you for your time Ms. Belladonna. If you ever need to talk to me," he paused, the caring clear in his eyes, "Please don't hesitate to ask."

She was jolted out of her thoughts by Yang and Ruby complaining loudly. "I can't believe the new guy tried to beat Draeg."

"And he stepped on him." Ruby nodded. Blake got up and tried to leave without them noticing.

"Stop!" Weiss commanded as Blake's hand was an inch from the door. "Lately you've been quiet, antisocial and moody."

"Uh, have you met Blake?" Yang asked.

"Which I get is kind of your 'thing'." Weiss said, making air quotes and continuing as if Yang hadn't spoken. "But you've been doing it more than usual. Which, quite frankly, is unacceptable. You made a promise to me, to all of us, that you would let us know if something was wrong. So Blake Belladonna, what is " Weiss said, leaping into the air and landed precariously on a chair that was leaning back so only it's back two legs were on the floor. "Wrong!"

Ruby and Yang stared open mouthed at how spontaneous the young heiress was acting. An instant later Weiss had placed the chair back in it's proper place by the door and was back in Blake's face.

"I just, I don't understand how everyone can be so calm." Blake said, the stress and emotion clear in her voice.

"You're still thinking about Torchwick." Ruby realized.

"Torchwick, the White Fang, all of it! Something big is happening and no one is doing anything about it!"

"Ozpin told us not to worry." Yang said. "Between the police and the huntsmen I'm sure they can handle it."

"Well I'm not!" Blake nearly screamed. "They don't know the White Fang like I do!" Ruby and Yang looked at each other and shrugged. She had a point.

"Okay." Weiss said. "Between blowing up nightclubs, stopping thieves, and fighting for freedom, I'm sure the three of you think you're all ready to go out and apprehend these ne'er-do-wells."

"Uh, who?" Ruby asked.

"But let me once again be the voice of reason." Weiss continued, again like she hadn't heard her team mate. "We're students. We're not ready to handle this sort of situation."

"Well, yeah, but-" Ruby started.

"We're not ready!" Weiss snapped more forcefully.

"And we may never be ready!" Blake shouted. "Our enemies aren't just going to sit around and wait for graduation day! They're out there, somewhere, planning their next move and none of us know what it is! But it's coming! Whether we're ready or not."

"Okay." Ruby said. "All in favor of becoming the youngest huntresses to single handedly bring down a corrupt organization conspiring against the kingdom of Vale," She said quickly. "Say aye."

"Yes!" Yang said doing a fist pump. "I love it when you're feisty." she said pointing at Blake.

"I suppose it could be fun." Weiss said with her arms crossed over her chest.

"None of you said aye." Ruby pouted.

"Alright then." Blake nodded. "We're in this together."

"Let's hatch a plan!" Ruby said excitedly.

"Yeah!" Yang cheered.

Ruby froze suddenly. "I left my board game in the library."

"We're doomed." Weiss said, deadpan.

"I'll be right back." Ruby said rushing out the door, almost running straight into Rathan. "Sorry, gotta get a game, bye!" she said, twisting around him, only to run into a girl with dark skin, red eyes and a black uniform. "Sorry." Ruby said sheepishly. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." the girl said, offering a hand to help Ruby up. "Just watch where you're going." Standing beside her was a guy with messy silver hair, who wore a male version of the girls uniform.

"Oh, right. Sorry." Ruby apologized again, taking the hand and hauling herself up. "Uh, I'm Ruby. Are you new?"

"Visiting from Haven actually." a second girl said, walking up from behind the other two. She wore the same uniform as the other girl, but had black hair that turned gray at the tips and bright yellow eyes.

"The uniform is a dead giveaway." a hoarse voice said from behind Ruby. Rathan was walking up to them, his boots making almost no sound. Rathan's hand landed on Ruby's shoulder, shocking her since he usually wasn't one for touching. "Go get your game Ruby." he said, never taking his eyes off the girl.

"Um, is everything okay?" Ruby asked, not used to the look in Rathan's orange eyes.

"Fine." Rathan said. "Go get your game, I'll direct them to their dormitories."

"Oh, okay." Ruby said sidling around the three Haven students and running to the library.

"Your dorms are to the east of here." Rathan said, glaring at the three.

"Thanks." the last girl said. "Maybe we'll see you around."

"Not if I can help it." Rathan growled, walking to his teams door and stepping inside.

* * *

><p>Hey guys. Like I've mentioned before, this is a collaboration fic written by Matthias the Wanderer, NoahOdinson and J.W.R. Cromwell and myself. The four of us have agreed to do a Q&amp;A segment. Just send in your questions about the fic and we'll post a chapter answering all we can without spoilers. If you want your penname to be mentioned, just add that into the review.<p>

Thanks, and so long!


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